Bobbin or cop feeler



W. H; BAKER AND C. E. CARTER.

BOBBIN OR COP FEELER.

AEFLlCATiOH FILL!) 211.2,!919.

l Patented Jan. 17, 1922.

/5 20 /& I I5 20 /6 Mme/7mm Clark 5 Car/er 5 W/'///am h Baker UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.

WILLIAM H. BAKER AND CLARK E. CARTER, 0F MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA; SAID CARTER ASSIGNOR T0 SAID BAKER.

BOBBIN 03 GOP FEELER.

Specification of Letters Patent, Patented J an. 17, 1922- Application filed February 5, 1919. Serial No. 275,247.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM H. BAKER and CLARK E. CARTER, both citizens of the United States, residing at the city of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bobbin or Cop Feelers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in feeler mechanism for looms, and more particularly to that class of feeler mechanism adapted to detect an insuiiiciency of filling on a bobbin or co in the loom shuttle.

The object of tlie invention is to provide a mechanism which will feel the filling at every second pick and when the amount of filling is insuflicient will be operated to set in motion a filling replenishing mechanism.

According to this invention, the front of the shuttle box and the front of the shuttle are apertured for the entrance of the feeler, which is mounted in a suitable position on the loom frame and which controls a trigger adapted to connect the weft hammer and the filling replenishing actuating means. When the amount of filling is insufficient, the feeler mechanism receives motion fro-m the lay which places the trigger in operative position between the weft hammer and fill ing replenishing actuating means. The feeler proper comprises two relatively movable parts which are bodily movable to ether without alteration of their relation. ne of these parts is adapted to feel the filling and the other to feel the shuttle. As long as there is a sufficiency of filling, no relative movementof the parts occurs, but when there is an insufiiciency of filling the shuttle feeler is moved by enga ement with the shuttle before the filling eeler is engaged and moved by the filling. In this way, relative movement of the feeler parts is produced, which movement is communicated to the trigger.

. In the drawings which illustrate the invention Fig. 1 is-a plan View of the device in position ona loom.

Fig. 2 a front elevation of the feeler.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view illustrating the contact of the feeler and filling when there is a sufficiency of filling.

Fig. 4 is a similar view illustrating the gpleration of the feeler by an insufliciency of Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing a modified form of feeler tip for use with cop spikes.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 11 desi nates the frame of a loom and 12 the loom lay carrying the shuttle box 13 having an opening 14 in the front wall thereof opposite which the shuttle 15 comes to rest. The weft hammer is designated by the numeral 16 and a shaft for communicating movement to a. filling replenishing mechanism is designated 17. A bobbin or cop 18 carrying filling 19 is secured in the shuttle in any suitable manner, for example, by means of spring fingers 20 which grasp the bobbin or cop head. According to this invention, the stem of a bobbin when such i used is proi ided with a diametrically disposed slot 21 adjacent the head. A slot 22 is provided in the front side wall of the shuttle opposite the bobbin slot and opposite the opening 14 in the front of the shuttle box. This shuttle slot extends far enough toward the point of the shuttle to expose one of the spring fingers 20 carrying the bobbin.

An arm 23 is mounted at one end on the shaft 17 and at the opposite end carries a pivotally mounted trigger 24, the point of 'which is adapted to engage a single tooth or step 25 ofthe weft hammer. This trigger is provided with a longitudinally disposed slot 26. The lever 23 may be shaped as shown in order to enable it to pass around the breast. beam 26 of the loom, so that the trigger will be readily accessible for adjustment.

The feeler mechanism proper comprises a bracket 27 secured to the loom frame which may of course be replaced b a lug cast on the frame. A lever 28 is pivotally mounted toward one end on the bracket. The long arm of this lever terminates in a feeler finger 29 extending toward the shuttle and positioned to pass through the shuttle box aad shuttle openings into engagement with the filling. Adjacent the finger 29 the lever 28 is provided with a pin 30 against which bears one end of a ring 31, the opposite-end of which is rigi dl secured to the bracket 27. The function of this spring is to urge the feeler finger toward the shuttle. In order to limit the movement of the lever 28 under influence of the spring 31, a stop is provided on the short arm of the lever in position to engage the bracket 27. At the root of the feeler finger 29 a bell crank lever 33 is pivoted. One arm of this lever is offset, as shown in Figure 2, to bring it into the plane of the finger 29 and terminates in a broad-rounded nose 34 adapted to pass through the shuttle box and shuttle openings and engage the bobbin holding finger 20. This is termed the shuttle feeler. The other arm of the bell crank lever is connected by an adjustable link 35 with one end of a. bell crank lever 36 pivoted on the extremity of the short arm of the lever 28. The other end of the bell crank lever extends into the slot 26 of the trigger 24'. This bell crank; lever 36 is provided with a stop 37 adapted to engage a projection 38 on the lever 28, limiting movement of the lever 36 in one direction and consequently the movement pf the lever 33 in a corresponding direction. It will be noted in Figure 2 that the lever 33 occupies and oscillates in a horizontal plane, while the lever 3Goccupies and oscillates in a vertical plane. 31A spring 39 is fixed at one end to the lever 28 and at the opposite end bears against a pin -10 carried by the lcver'33, the function of this spring being to urge the shuttle feeler 3i toward the shuttle and therefore to raise the free extremity of the lever 36, thus normally holding the trigger 24 in elevated position.

The, form of filling feeler shown in Figure l is adapted for use with bobbins. When the device is to be used on a loom operating with cops the teeler finger 29.is replaced by a broad blunt-edged knife.29. The operation of the device is extremely simple. On alternate picks as the lay beats forward, the shuttle in the box is brought against the feele-r device and the filling feeler 29 in effect enters the shuttle slot and strikes the filling on the bobbin or cop. The continued forward movement of the lay then carries the feeler with it. so that the lever 28 is oscillated. The bell crank lever 36 being vertically disposed oscillates with the lever 28 and its tip slides in the slot 26 toward the tip of the trigger without any change of elevation, so that the trigger is not movedbut is held up clear of the weft hammer. As long as there is plenty of filling on the bobbin or cop, the filling teeler is engaged by the filling before the shuttle feeler is engaged by the shuttle and the lay movement is imparted directly to the lever 28, so that no relative movement occurs between the filling feeler and the shuttle fceler. lVhen the filling has run out to the point where replenishment is necessary, the filling yields and permits the feeler finger 29 to enter the slot 21 of the bobbin, so that the lay movement is not communicated to the lever 28 and the advancing lay brings the shuttle into-contact with the shuttle feeler 34. In practice, the shuttle feeler spring 39 is much weaker than the filling feeler spring 31, so that the lever 28 remains stationary and only the lever 33 moves. This movement is communicated through the link 35 to the bell crank lever 36, the free end of which swings down and depresses the point of the trigger until it is caught bythe tooth 25 of the advancing weft hammer. The movement of the weft hammer or other suitable part of the loom is then communicated through the trigger 24 and arm 23 to rock the shaft 17 and set in motion the weft replenishing mechanism. If the replenishing mechanism should fail to operate, the feeler will continue to rock the-shaft 17 at each alternate pick andset the replenishing mechanism in operation until a new'bobbin or cop is placed in the shuttle. It the feeler is mounted on a loom which does not automatically replenish filling, the, shaft 17 may have connection to the loom stopping mechanism. The operation of the device with a 'cop spike is exactly the same as when a llobbin is used, except that there "being no slot in the cop spike, the device is adjusted to operate when the" filling 0n the spike is exhausted to a predetermined thickness. The blunt edged knife 29 is found more suitable than the comparatively pointed feeler 29. It will be understood that the penetration of the feeler 29 into the bobbin slot, as shown in Figure 4, has been exagr gerated to clearly show the relative movement of the two feelers.

Having thus described our invention, 105 what we claim is 1. In a feeler mechanism the combination with a filling replenishing actuating mechanism and a constantly oscillating loom part of a filling feeler, and a shuttle feeler mov- 110 ably mounted on the filling feeler, a trigger on the replenishing. actuating mechanism and means mounted on-the filling feeler connected between the shuttle feeler and trigger and operating in a plane perpendicular to 115 the planeof operation of the filling feeler whereby the trigger is unaffected by filling feeler movement, said means being operable by the shuttle feeler to move the trigger intothe path of the oscillating loom part.

2. In a feeler mechanism, the combinationwith an oscillating loom part, and a filling replenishing actuating means, of a filling feeler oscillatable by movement of the filling, a-shuttle feeler mounted on the filling 125 feeler and independently oscillatable in the same plane as the fillin feeler, a trigger adapted to transmit motion from the oscillating loom part to the replenishing actuatving means, and connection between the shut- '130 tle feeler and trigger mounted on the filling feeler and inoperative to move the trigger by filling feeler movement.

3. In a device according. to claim 2, a spring connected between the filling feeler and s iuttle feeler and operative to normally maintain the trigger out of the path of the oscillating loom part.

4. In a device according to claim 2, a spring urging the filling feeler toward the shuttle, and a weaker spring connecting the fillin feeler and shuttle feeler urging the shutt e feeler toward a shuttle and normally holding the trigger out of the path of the oscillating loom part, whereby the shuttle feeler may be moved by a shuttle to shift the trigger into the path of the oscillating loom part.

5. In a feeler mechanism, the combination with an oscillating loom part and a filling replenishing actuating means, of a feeler oscillatable by movement of the filling, a spring urging the feeler toward the filling, a support for the feeler and a stop on the feeler engageable with said support to limit feeler movement toward the filling, a shuttle feeler mounted on the filling feeler and independently oscillatable' in the same plane as the filling feeler, a second spring weaker than the first connecting the filling feeler and shuttle feeler and urging the shuttle feeler toward a shuttle, a trigger adapted to transmit motion from the oscillating loom part to the replenishing actuating means normally held out of the path of the oscillating loom part by saidsecond spring, and connection between the shuttle feeler and trigger mounted on the filling feeler and inoperative to move the trigger by filling feeler movement, and a second stop on the filling feeler engageable by the connection to the trigger to limit movement of the shuttle feeler toward the shuttle and the effect of the shuttle feeler spring upon the trigger.

6. In a feeler mechanism, a support, a lever mounted thereon forming a filling feeler, a bell crank lever mounted on one end of said lever and forming a shuttle feeler, a,

second bell crank lever mounted on the opposite end of said lever in a plane perpendicular to the first and a link connecting said bell crank lever.

7. In a device according to claim 6, a spring fixed at one end to the support and hearing at the opposite end against the lever, a stop on the lever engaging the support and limiting spring actuated lever movement in one direction, a weaker spring mounted at one end on the lever and enga ing at the opposite end with the first bell crank lever, and interengaging stops on the lever and second bell crank limiting spring actuated bell crank movement in one direc- WILLIAM H. BAKER. CLARK E. CARTER. 

